


Haunted

by Rakath



Category: Degrassi
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-30
Updated: 2018-10-14
Packaged: 2019-07-04 12:51:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,730
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15841674
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rakath/pseuds/Rakath
Summary: Eli finds someone alone who he might be able to help.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Quick setting notes:  
> \- Eli and Clare didn't get back together.  
> \- Clare doesn't have cancer cause she's not in this plot.  
> \- Maya didn't go to Paris because I need her in Toronto.  
> \- Adam and Becky screwed things up somewhere down the line cause I need Adam single.

Eli wished he was anywhere but here. The plan had been to work on an independent film in New York but that wasn’t happening. Adam, Drew, and Imogen were working at a summer daycare, which was not Eli’s thing. He was still hoping something would whisk him away to a good project, one that puts his artistic merits to work. So he wasn’t really looking to sling coffee or wash dishes until that day came.

Especially with film school in the fall.

So he picked a nice spot in the park, alone, with his notebook of ideas. Things that could become bigger projects, things he’s saving for his first real film. Things that would be good to work on in film school. His thoughts drifted away from projects after a while, the sad singing of strings pulling his mind to Clare, and how she was in Paris, and he managed to screw that up.

Wait, strings? Eli looked around and sure enough there was a girl, in the park, playing her cello. It was a melancholy sound, devoid of happiness. He figures most people in the park would pay her to leave. This isn’t to say that her playing was bad, Maya Matlin was an incredible talent. But- her playing was not the sort of upbeat score you would give to a warm sunny day.

He could get that. As much as he hated what his mind labeled her, he didn’t know her so she was placed in a context. And she wasn’t Adam’s bandmate, or Katie’s sister. Tristan’s friend. Cheerleader Zombie. Or any of the other titles that would be kinder than what his mind labeled her. She was Cam’s girlfriend. That’s how he’d always known her, and it hurt a little. 

He didn’t even know Cam’s name when he found him, for a few horrifying minutes he was just… there. Nameless, Eli had to decide things about him based on his clothes. Eli didn’t want to think about the few moments he spent just staring before he moved to bar the entrance to the greenhouse. His mind tried to wrap itself around what lead this nameless boy to that greenhouse and each theory was more horrifying than the last.

At least, with Maya, the theories were far less morose. She was a musician, the sun was out, it was a lovely day, why practice indoors when you can have the shade of a tree and fresh air. She seemed like one of those who liked being around people. Only her playing betrayed her heart, and only someone who knew what she was going through would truly understand why.

So Eli smiled, and tried to drop a five into her cello case.

“Oh crap, Eli. You don’t have to do that. If I saw anyone dropping money in there I’d have stopped them.” Maya had gotten to the end of her song, and looked up.

Eli picked up the bill, “How about this, I use this five to buy you coffee instead?”

Maya smiled at that offer.

***

“So why are you out here by yourself?” Eli asked as the two picked a window seat in the Dot. It was perfect as it let Maya’s cello case lean against the window frame out of the way of any wait staff.

“Oh, um, Tori moved away. I’m too young to work at the daycamp like Im and Adam. Tris is in Paris. And Zig’s kinda been sketchy and avoiding me since-” The thought trailed off into something Maya couldn’t say.

Eli headed her off from finishing, “Why aren’t you in Paris, that seemed like the sort of thing you’d go for.”

“Mom vetoed the idea after I missed curfew. I also smelled like weed when I came home which was not my fault.”

Eli smirked at that line.

“What, it wasn’t, someone was smoking it near me! And my mom has the nose of a bloodhound. ...That came out wrong.” Maya put her head on the table.

“Nono, I get it. You can’t go to Paris so you become a transient busker. Perfect story, I’d write it.” Eli sipped his coffee as Maya glared at him.

“Mom’s just- she’s gotten really attentive to my life now. Before she just let me take care of myself and do my music. But after last year-”

“She’s afraid for you. Because of what happened, and how you responded to it.”

Maya watched him a few moments, “You saw the video.”

“Everyone saw the video.”

Maya put her head back on the table.

“You do remember I did molly at school and streaked campus right? For the same reason you made that video?”

Maya looked up at him, she had heard about it. Honestly everyone heard about it. But she hadn’t really heard who had done it, “That was you?”

“Everyone was treating me differently because I found him, I can’t imagine how that’d be if I was actually close to him. Eventually I just kinda decided I needed to act out. Just to make it so nobody wasted their time.” Eli stirred his coffee, aware Maya was watching more closely.

“I was mad afterwards, at him, at myself… at everyone around me. Katie was pretty okay, but everyone else started acting differently just because.”

“Because of something you didn’t do.”

“Yeah…”

“I lost someone,” Eli wasn’t sure his experiences would help, he wasn’t exactly normal. By any measure, but he doubted anyone at school could relate to this the way he could, “I was older than you, and it wasn’t the same. It hurts, but it eventually just becomes a part of you, and you can move past it. It doesn’t go away, but it isn’t all anyone sees either.”

Maya simply studied his face, not saying anything.

“I realize after saying that an entire conversation about dead exes isn’t really normal or saying anything like getting over it. How about this, Adam, Im, and I are going camping this weekend, come with us.” Eli smiled, his stupid charming little grin, casual in this offer as anything else in life. “Both say you’re the one I should talk to if I wanna understand half the terms in movie scores. Given how you can talk their ear off about music choices in movies.”

That got a smile out of Maya. Playing to her strengths, to the thing she wishes people knew her for. Rather than what she’s been trapped with. With people that know her, rather than people that see only the ghost behind her. She felt far more alive on that. “They only say that so I don’t complain about movie scores to them.”

“And it means they don’t need to deal with me picking apart movies with them either. Even if Adam gets distracted by special effects-”

“And Imogen makes faces at the costumes.”

Eli smirked, “Why haven’t we done this sooner?”

“I dunno, but we should have.”

***

Eli and Maya parked the car and headed into the woods. Maya wasn’t really mentioned to the others yet. Adam was in charge of supplies, camping more than the rest combined. Imogen had entertainment. Charging for their electronics, board games, and… various weird Imogen choices nobody questioned. Eli had the run of the food. As he was the only one trusted to cook.

And Maya was there. She was adorable with her camping gear on one shoulder and her guitar on the other. Way too much stuff for one girl to need.

Especially a problem when they arrived at the campsite. Imogen squealed in delight and did something that was a little bit hug and a little bit offensive tackle. “I wasn’t expecting to see you this is going to be the best camping ever!”

Imogen was dressed for camping. She had two mismatched hiking boots, camo leggings, a purple sundress, and a military jacket she’d sewn a fur collar to.

Adam was just dressed like Adam, “Hey Maya.”

Once Imogen had lead Maya off to put her gear away Adam turned to Eli.

“So why did you bring Katie’s kid sister along?” Adam asked.

“Hi Eli, how was the drive down.”

“Hi Eli, why did you bring Katie’s kid sister along?”

“She’s alone this summer, and I figured she could use some fun.” Eli studied Adam, “Adam, please tell me you weren’t planning to hook up with Imogen on a camping trip with just the three of us.”

Adam looked slightly sheepish. “I wanted a chance to talk with Imogen away from… everything?”

“How about this, Maya takes my tent, you and I share, and you can chat with Imogen as you want,” Eli gestured to the girls, “Suggest it now before they move in together.”

***

The camping trip was, more or less, a success. They had food, a lot of fun. Imogen tried to teach Maya belly dancing. Which was inappropriate, but more to the point impractical. Maya’s the only one of them who could improvise music. And she couldn’t play while dancing. It was amusing, all the same, watching them attempt to figure that out.

And Imogen’s dancing kept distracting Adam. Eli knows how that feels.

Adam and Imogen made some sort of plan for the night, Eli didn’t hear the details. But it was written over both of their faces. And finally they all decided to crash once the fire was low and the stars were out. Eli, figured, once he was asleep, nothing interesting would come up until morning.

“Eli, you awake?”

Eli blinked open his eyes at the still dark tent, and checked his phone. It was a bit after one, “What is it Maya?”

“Can I crash with you?”

Eli rubbed his eyes, confused and not really ready to deal with this.

“At least lemme come in to explain.”

“Sure… fine, I’m dressed.”

He couldn’t see in the dark as Maya made her way in, just a general shape in the dark. “So what’s up.”

“Your tent is next to Imogen’s tent.”

“I just woke up and that doesn’t really explain anything.”

“They’re kinda having sex now, and I can hear all of it from your tent.”

Eli rubbed his palm over his face, fantastic. Really, great. From the little experience he’s had with Maya he knows she’s very aware of sound, and some of that awareness wasn’t healthy. “I swear he said they were just going to talk.”

“I could hear that too. That was like a half hour and then… Imogen started making noises until I think Adam put a gag in her mouth.” From what little Eli could see Maya was hugging her knees to her chest. Her voice did not carry a level of weirdness to it he expected.

Eli, for his part, knew what noises Maya was speaking of. While he and Imogen never had sex, their adventures in adjacent activities made it clear Imogen, when properly excited, was incredibly loud. ...Then again, Imogen was just generally very loud in any other situation too.

“Well, you can’t hear them now, can you?”

“A little?”

“Let’s just try to sleep anyway, okay?” Eli sighed, “I swear when I invited you I had no idea this was going to happen?”

“You and Adam both ending up in a tent with a girl?”

“Yes. Come to think of it, you could phrase it that way. Not my plan at all. I wish it was.”

***

The next time Eli awoke it was because of movement in the tent. There was a brief moment where he got his senses back and put together he wasn’t alone, and what he was seeing. Maya had sat up, suddenly, and made a strangled noise. Like she bit back shouting. Normally he’d sleep through that. If he was in a bed, in a house, and not in a tent in the woods.

Having been woken up an hour earlier. “What is it.”

“Nothing.” That was a lie, a bad one, and an obvious one.

“You had a nightmare, didn’t you?”

“...Yes.”

Eli sighed, “Come over here.”

Maya did it without any hesitation, Eli wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to lay down next to him. He was in the sleeping bag, she was on top of it. He just held her, “When you calm down you can crawl back over to Adam’s sleeping bag, okay?”

“...Okay.” Maya’s voice was still very small, for a girl who could belt out showtunes he assumed could be heard back in the city. “And thank you.”

“I know how this works a little too well, okay?”

***

“Hey Eli, Maya’s not in your tent and Im’s a little- Oh god!”

“Oh God!”

Eli woke up to a number of revelations. This time, it was morning. Which was a nice discovery after multiple times being woken up last night. He didn’t remember falling asleep after Maya’s nightmare, but apparently Maya hadn’t gotten back to Adam’s sleeping bag last night. And had slept in his arms content and without further nightmares.

All in all, also a good discovery. The lack of nightmares.

It was a little jarring Maya was wearing a large tee-shirt, and he assumed panties under it, but no pants. That he hadn’t figured out from last night. It sorta set a mood he wasn’t quite sure matched the events. Oh, and Adam was there in a tee shirt and no binder. Which was just a little disorienting even if this wasn’t the first time that’d come up.

Maya had hidden herself under Adam’s sleeping bag, peeking out just enough to ‘see.’ Which Eli wasn’t sure of as she didn’t have her glasses on.

“I’m going to say this isn’t what it looks like, and you’re probably not going to believe me.”

“No shit, Eli.”

“Why don’t we compare notes about last night after everyone is dressed.”

Adam’s arm went over his chest, “...Agreed.”

“I’ll just- go- okay? Okay.” Maya made a hasty retreat which wasn’t fast enough to cover her lack of pants at all.

Eli waited to hear Maya zip herself in his tent when he got up, still in pajamas, and said, “You change first.”

“...Thanks.”

***

Once there was food, and everyone had pants. The latter being far more important, but the former definitely calmed everyone down. The four sat and compared notes for the previous night. Imogen had apologized for being so loud when she orgasmed which… didn’t help anything. Adam turned a weird shade of red. Maya didn’t say much at all, and let Eli tell their story. He glossed over what her nightmare probably was.

“So, we clear, nobody did anything wrong. But next time we go camping if you’re planning to do that maybe we should give you your space?” Eli asked.

“Again, I’m really sorry for being so noisy when I-”

“What Imogen means is, yes, next time we’ll plan this better. I wasn’t really thinking we’d- you know.”

“We get it, really,” Eli answered, glancing over at Maya who still looked a bit shell shocked.

Imogen nudged Adam, “Let’s start moving stuff to your car.”

“Huh? Oh. Ohhh, right.”

Adam and Imogen made a hasty retreat.

“So… you normally just go into someone else’s tent without pants?”

Maya’s answer was to turn a little green.

“I get it, it was too hot to wear pants. But… maybe next time warn me?”

“I wasn’t- I dunno, I wasn’t trying to make something happen but I wasn’t not trying to either?”

Eli blinked, considered the level of negative involved, “Come again?”

“I dunno, at first I was just excited to have something to do, but I had a skype call with Tris before the trip and he suggested maybe you were trying to do something. And then with Adam and Im doing  _ things _ I thought… I dunno…”

“That this was an elaborate ploy to get you out of your pants?”

It was impressive how she curled into a tighter ball of embarrassment at that.

“Not my intention, I thought you could use a friend, and honestly I wasn’t sure how ready you were for- well, anything. Plus.”

“If you say I’m ‘like, twelve’ I’m going to punch you.”

Eli did not say that, although generally speaking if you have to look up the legality of doing something… it was probably a bad idea. Instead he opted for a different answer, “I leave for college, I didn’t want to start anything we couldn’t actually finish.”

“You have sex that won’t be finished in three weeks?” Maya asked, there was a bit of a smirk.

Eli laughed at that, she did have a wit to her. “Well, no, but if you get attached I won’t be staying.”

That caused her to slump a little.

“But if you need someone to talk to, I’ll do my best. I really doubt most of the school actually gets what you’re dealing with. And if at a later point you want to. I didn’t hate what I saw.” Yes, there were definite concerns about her age, but she’s already been through a lot. He couldn’t quite say what she was up for. And at the very least, if she makes this mistake with him, he can protect her more than if she were to pick some boy her age who doesn’t get it.

“If you do decide to go for that, I’m going to suggest we do it where a bed is available. I don’t understand what those two were going for doing it in the woods.”

Maya laughed at that, so at least this wasn’t a complete disaster. That was something. She smirked, “They’re probably making out by the car to ‘give us some space.’”

Eli smirked in return, “Shall we see, and maybe say hello. Turnabout and all that.”

“I see nothing wrong with this plan.” Plus having a co-conspirator if Adam and Imogen were going to be a thing, wasn’t the worst thing in the world.


	2. Winter Break

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eli comes home for winter break.

Eli slung his dufflebag over his shoulder and closed the trunk of the cab. He glanced over at his house, it felt like it hadn’t been long enough. He thought he’d be more different the first time he came home from college.

Okay, it’d only been four months. But it felt like it should be longer. He paid the cabby and wandered up to the front door. There was a small bench next to the doorway.

And it was occupied. How could anyone sleep out here in this cold? And not look like they died? He’d have to ask this vagrant. Nudging her shoulder as he waited for her to stir, “Hey, punk rock, what’d you do with Maya?”

Maya sat up and rubbed her eyes, slipping her glasses from her pocket back onto her nose. ‘Punk rock’ was due to the outfit she was wearing, fake nose-ring (it’d slipped a little in her sleep), black jacket covered in studs, studded choker, her make-up was dark grunge too. It was just- weird. Honestly. “Oh, hey… I’ve sorta gotten stuck in the rubber room, this is to fit in.”

“Remedial, what’d you do?”

“It involved that stupid music video and threatening to kill someone with song?”

Eli looked at her, “Your music isn’t that bad.”

“I made the threat by song, doofus.”

“Much more believable, I saw the video. That was a lot of you. Why are you out here?”

Maya pulled an envelope out of her pocket and handed it over, “I was coming to wait for you, maybe avoid mom for a bit. Found this instead. So I figured I’d just sit out here.”

Eli pulled out the quick handwritten note for him. He scanned it once, then read it out loud. “Eli, sorry we ran off. I have to work a gig in Quebec for the next four days, Mom and I are making a trip of it. Money in the fridge for pizza. Please don’t burn the house down. - Bullfrog.”

Maya was staring at him, he was pretending to look over the note, “I guess you should come inside, warm up before you freeze to death.”

“I’m fine,” Maya dismissed his concern effortlessly, replacing it with what he was dreading, “Are you okay?”

“Bullfrog does this a lot, and the fact you’re fine freezing out here worries me more than anything. We should probably call Adam and Im before they accuse us of anything we’re not doing.” Eli pulled a key from under a statue of a frog next to the door, quickly letting them in.

***

“So,” Eli began, looking between Adam and Imogen, “Who wants to explain how I leave for a few months and Maya’s in a softcore porn? One with awful directing I’ll add.”

Maya threw a pillow at Eli’s head. He felt that was somewhat deserved. The four had settled into the home theater Bullfrog had put in. “The video wasn’t that bad…”

“Drew and Bianca were going through a  _ thing _ ,” Imogen answered, “Adam and I were playing damage control. Honestly we didn’t think that whatever was going on with Zoe would get so bad.”

“And then Maya’s gotten herself suspended, after some creep cornered her in a classroom.” Adam realized he overstepped in details a second after he said it.

“I leave for a few months and everything goes sideways, you’ve been holding out.” Eli turned to see Maya glaring death at Adam and Imogen. She tried to cover it by acting innocent. Which had mixed results with the remnants of her new punk attire.

“Honestly, it wasn’t a big deal. Some skeeze got me alone, a friend of mine decked him for it. And some bitch tried to tank me with slutshaming me online and I vehemently wished her dead. Since then I’ve been keeping my head low and going to therapy and when those two aren’t fucking like bunnies they have me around.”

Eli glanced over at Adam and Imogen, Adam at least looked ashamed of the assessment of his activities. Imogen… Eli knew better than to expect shame from her. She was basking. “Right, well, if you’re sure.”

“Tiny and Grace are pretty good, for delinquent trouble. And I have these two oddballs. I’m fine.” Maya moved closer to Eli and leaned against him. He wrapped his arm around her as if they were two parts of a single mechanism, meant to do that.

“Speaking of, the bunnies thing, can we-?” Imogen started. Looking all bright and hopeful.

Maya started laughing.

Eli rolled his eyes, “Bed’s made, please throw the sheets in the laundry when you two are- done. Please?”

Imogen saluted, “It’s just- cars are kinda awkward and very hard to-”

“Adam get her out of here I don’t need to know!”

Maya had fallen off the sofa, to the floor, laughing too hard to see.

Eli rested his face in his hands, “How long did you know they’d do that?”

“Since I saw the note on your door? I mean, you’ve met Mrs. Torres? And Ms. Granger.”

Eli considered, Imogen’s mom was straight laced in ways that felt impossible to be related to Imogen. Maybe a cousin or something, but not her mother. And Adam’s mother was terrifying, it made sense they couldn’t just get together at home. And a bed had to be a nice change from however they found time together. “Okay, I’m just a moron it seems. You want my parent’s room when we all crash?”

“I thought we’d both bunk down here? On the pull out?”

It wasn’t like they never slept together before, but there was something decidedly off about now. Eli had been going over their chats since he left. They fell off a little around midterms and finals. It was mostly related to work, he’d ask her advice on music choices for a project. Or they’d just talk about how each of them was doing. The story of his roommate misadventures. Sure, it got flirty in places, but he wasn’t sure it meant anything.

So he watched her a moment, without the jacket Maya was a lot more herself. Her grey shirt had kittens on it, but she still had the faded ripped up black jeans, which hugged in very decided ways. The studded collar and black bracelets were all fairly innocuous on their own. But with her new make-up and the fake nose ring it kinda made her look less like… well, a lot less innocent. Older? No. That wasn’t it either.

It made the look in her eye feel right. That world worn thing her eyes did, when her mind drifted toward the dark marks on her, the wounds that wouldn’t ever heal. The ones his eyes had. He also noticed her hand was gently touching some object in her pocket. The skinny jeans had pockets large enough for maybe a stick of gum or-

Or…

_ Oh _ .

“Maya, that’s a terrible idea.”

“Why? Are you and Lenore a thing?”

“Well, not really…”

Maya studied him a little, waiting for his answer.

“We did some stuff once. It involved the heat going out and a torrential rainstorm.” Eli relived a flash of that, they had been so fast to strip out of their wet clothes the fact they shared a room was a far second thought. And then the tension between them shattered all at once. It was fun but, well, that was it. “But that’s not what I mean.”

“What do you mean?”

“Are you sure? This isn’t something you should just rush into.” He wasn’t sure what reason not to do it other than he was leaving. And that wasn’t new information. She knew how long he was home for. Okay, the age thing, but that didn’t feel terribly important.

“No. But…” Maya got up off the floor, “That doesn’t matter to me. I want to do it, I’m scared but, who cares? Life is always going to fuck things up so I might as well just roll with it, right?” Maya’s fingers went to her zipper and started her jeans down.

The problem was she was trying to remove skinny jeans in a ‘sexy’ manner, she tried to make it look good. Maya lost her footing, and was in short order on her ass, pants halfway down her legs. It would be rude to laugh, it was also wrong not to laugh. So he laughed, “Do you need help.”

“Ugh, yes-” She didn’t seem embarrassed so much as annoyed.

Eli helped get her out of her jeans, “Next time wear a skirt.”

“If I did that I’d have accidentally flashed everyone like a dozen times. Today.”

Eli helped her up and kissed her, “That video is still online, I’m sure a hundred people have seen you in your panties today.”

Maya groaned and fell into Eli’s arms, “I hate how right you are. Stupid fucking copies of my video…”

Eli held her a moment, she wasn’t Clare. She didn’t seem to want some perfect storybook moment, there wasn’t a real sense she thought romance that way. He couldn’t blame her, after Julia he also wasn’t looking for a new life to ruin, just to get by. Clare sorta fell into his world, like he came into Maya’s. “Is that really all, you want to just get it over with?”

“Sorta? I just- everyone still thinks I’m some sort of slut, and it just isn’t fair. That I’ve got the rep without doing anything. So I thought-”

“Some cute boy from college comes home you can just get it done with and see if it’s worth it? Without having to worry too much about how your friends think about it?”

Maya nodded.

Eli kissed her forehead, “I’ll admit, I have seen that video a few times since I found it. And I have thought about this after you told me you’d have been more comfortable taking direction from me.”

Maya turned a little redder than he expected from that.

“But there’s no need to rush into it, okay?”

Maya looked at him, “Guys don’t normally say no to sex, do they?”

“Smart ones do, I’m not saying we just hold hands. We just… take it slow. What was the plan before you found out I’d be home alone for days?”

Maya worried her lip, “I’d flirt with you and try to get you to come over when my parents weren’t home?”

Eli shrugged, it was a plan. Not very deep but Maya wasn’t much for schemes, just action. “Okay, do I even want to know what you’ve said about this to Im or anyone else.”

“I kiiiiinda brought it up with my therapist?” Which was not where Eli thought that would go, “Who thinks it’s the most normal thing I’ve had in my head lately? And sorta healthy?”

“Are you lying to try to lure me into bed?”

“Do you want proof from my doctor?”

Eli considered the requirements for that, “No, no, I trust you. I just want to be sure you trust you.”

Maya considered a moment, stepped back, and pulled the shirt off.

Eli’s interests went from academic to something a little more intense and immediate, “Maya, wearing the lingerie from that video is not fair.”

***

It took Maya a few seconds to remember where she was. Slightly less time to remember she was naked. And then more time finding where the heck her glasses were.

Fortunately her glasses were on top of a really large tee shirt and a pair of boxers to wear. After getting dressed it was simply a matter of following her nose toward the smell of breakfast.

“Where are the boys?” Maya managed when she found Imogen in the kitchen, making waffles. They smelled wonderful, but they were streaks of green and blue as they came out of the waffle maker.

“We don’t have any coffee.” Imogen passed Maya a plate. Already loaded.

Maya stared at the blue-green waffles, “Im, what did you do?”

“I made the first waffle but it was sorta dull, and then I found the food coloring!”

Maya laughed a little and sat down. Working on the waffles she had, there was also bacon and soon a glass of orange juice appeared. Thankfully food coloring was all Imogen did. This time. Something else was off though, not the food, not the boys vanishing, but… she looked up to find Imogen staring at her.

Just staring. Like, she was paying attention to the waffle maker, but she was all eyes on Maya. “Something you want to ask me?”

“Well!?”

“What?” Maya wasn’t there, she was tired and there wasn’t any coffee.

“Eli definitely had that glowy thing and you were definitely just wearing a sheet when I brought you some clothes to wear.” Once the current waffle was done she added it to the serving plate with the others and sat down to stare more directly at Maya.

“Don’t tell me you want a blow by blow or something.” Maya cringed, cursing herself for that word choice. Coffee, she needed coffee for this. Why was there no coffee? She’ll just down her orange juice so fast she nearly chokes on it. Totally smooth.

“I dunno, like, you were worried about this. So I thought you’d wanna talk about it. It’s why I stayed behind, that and I wanted to make waffles.” The staring had at least died into casual assessment, weird but a more manageable weird from Imogen.

Maya studied the waffles a bit, trying to think of an answer, “How did you get the swirly marble pattern in the waffles?”

“Oh, I split the batter between two bowls and put the blue in one and the green in the other. Now is that really what you want to talk about?”

Maya spent a few seconds wondering if she should ask  _ why _ Imogen did that, but… Imogen was infuriatingly right. “I dunno, it was good? We didn’t do ‘it’ but we did stuff. And it was- I dunno.”

Imogen was watching her, this time there was a lot more doubt and disbelief to the older girl’s features.

“What? I’ve never done anything, I dunno how many orgasms are normal.”

Imogen turned away, “Ooooohkay, I was wondering about you emotionally, I didn’t need to know how good Eli is with his hands, or tongue.”

“Stop acting like you two never did anything.”

“We never did enough I had to keep track of orgasms.”

Maya buried her face in her arms, next to her plate of weird pancakes, screaming into her arm. Immediately followed by her hand snaking out, stealing some bacon, and crunching down on it. She could hear Imogen refilling her orange juice right after.

“But really, Maya Matlin, how are you?”

“I dunno, I don’t think I’ll know until, tomorrow afternoon?” Maya looked a little ashamed of that. How long it took for her mind to work its way around things now, she was always a little slow with her feelings, but ever since…

“Relax, it sounds like you have a lot on your mind. Any of it you just wanna share?”

Maya probably should have thought carefully about what she said next, but careful had never been her style. “Just like, worried I guess? That I wasn’t good or something?”

At that moment, Maya’s mind caught up to that thought and shut any more words down. A little too late to save her dignity.

Imogen for her part walked past Maya, patting her head on the way, over to her bag, grabbing a small bag out of it, “This is my go bag, you can’t use my toothbrush, but there’s some mouthwash and shampoo, go shower. And- process. Quietly, where I don’t hear anything else awkward. But guys are easy and you’d probably know if you didn’t do it right.”

Maya had made it most of the way to the stairs, safe in the idea she’d get some alone time to work through.

“I’m glad you had fun doing sex things!”

Maya smiled at that, in spite of herself. It was weird, yeah, but Imogen was weird enough when things weren’t awkward. Maya was glad she didn’t screw up, as far as she knows. It didn’t feel like she screwed up anything. At the same time, she felt something was wrong, in the back of her head, a certainty without a source. She’d- maybe need to talk about things with Imogen when her mind was a little less scrambled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I was asked to write another chapter, here it is.
> 
> I'm not super sold on everything, I decided to make this Eli/Maya for real and not just talking. Cause they would make this horrible choice, together, with gusto. I think this might be a four shot, I do have a few ideas already rattling around about where this could go. Just not sure on the order yet...


End file.
